I’m leaning in to the Thanksgiving weekend drinks with yet another cocktail for the season. I’ll get back to completely random drinks soon, but for now I am enjoying this transition into the holiday season and basically making drinks like I might find featured this week if I were going out and enjoying drinks in bars. So please join me now as we stand and make the Autumn Sour.

This one is not too over the top, just a nod to some holiday flavors, but keeping things in that same feel. We went out today, actually crossed a state line and did some hiking in Northern Alabama. It was good to spend this beautiful day with the family playing outside, taking advantage of the great fall weather. A bit of chill in the air, but nice sun. Leaves falling all around, the colors of the season moving from the trees to the ground, baring those branches we will be looking at till spring. We better enjoy it, they are teasing much colder temps and even a bit off snow just around the corner. After our hike we even slipped into town and grabbed some curbside Spiced Orange Cafe au Lait before going walking in a historic cemetery. Yeah, it was a good day and this drink should make for a lovely nightcap. Let’s mix it up and see what happens.

Grab your tins and pop in 2 ounces of whiskey, I chose the last bottle of Corsair Hydra in existence, allegedly; 1/2 an ounce of fresh squeezed lemon juice, 1/4 ounce of Demerara syrup, 1/4 ounce of maple syrup, 2 stabs of Regan’s Orange Bitters and 2-3 stabs of El Guapo Chicory Pecan Bitters. Add ice and shake to the beat of “Don’t Get Around Much Anymore“ cause of late, that has been all too true. I did not fully realize just how much I needed a frivolous day out without responsibilities..and coffee, made by someone else.When your tins are good and cold strain into a rocks glass over some handmade artisanal ice cubes. Garnish with one of your few remaining dehydrated orange slices and a piece of rosemary from the front garden, lightly toasted, as one does.

Yeah, that’ll work. It’s a little sweeter than I had anticipated, but I think I like that today. I know that the garnish often seems like an afterthought, but in many cases, like this one, the aroma from your garnish can really make the drink. That toasted rosemary on the nose, just sets this one up perfectly. So, don’t skip the garnish. The garnish should always be there to enhance the drink and it definitely does on this one. If I had to do this one again, I would skip the dem and just go all maple. Not sure why I was trying to be clever there, but they are kinda redundant with a whiskey this forward. 

It’s a lovely drink that falls right in with the season and will help us transition to the colder weather and darker days to come. The good news is, before long, the days will begin to get a little brighter and spring will be here before you know it. I’m not looking that far ahead, though. I am looking toward the holiday season. To watching the boy get one more season of wonder in, to watching people think about each other a little more deeply for a bit, to peppermint mochas, whiskers on kittens, all that stuff that Julie Andrews would be singing about if she were here. I mean she is still around, presumably singing about her instapot, daily fiber and The Queen’s Gambit, or whatever her current favorite things include. I did not mean to imply that she was no longer with the collective us, I was simply stating that she is not currently a guest in our home. I mean, she could be, she is always welcome. So, Mrs. Andrews, if you wish to pop round, please do, we will put the kettle on and set out the good biscuits. Lord knows we will be “home for the holidays” and could use the company, properly distanced, of course. Stay safe, stay hydrated and stay sane, my friends.